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>> HI, MY NAME IS NICOLE SMITH,
AND I'M AN ENGINEER WORKING
ON NASA'S SPACE
EXPLORATION MISSIONS
AT GLENN RESEARCH CENTER
IN OHIO.
NASA HAS A GREAT CHALLENGE
TO SHARE WITH YOU,
AND WE WANT TO SEE
YOUR SOLUTIONS.
THE CHALLENGE IS
SPACECRAFT SAFETY.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT
IT WOULD BE LIKE TO TRAVEL
TO THE MOON, TO MARS,
OR OTHER DESTINATIONS IN SPACE?
SINCE 1961, HUMANS HAVE
BEEN TRAVELING TO SPACE.
HOWEVER, THE FARTHEST
ANYONE HAS EVER GONE
HAS BEEN TO OUR MOON.
IF WE ARE TO EXPLORE FARTHER OUT
INTO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
WE'LL NEED A SPACECRAFT THAT
CAN DO MORE THAN
WE'VE EVER IMAGINED.
>> AND LIFTOFF AT DAWN.
THE DAWN OF ORION.
>> IN DECEMBER OF 2014,
NASA COMPLETED A TEST LAUNCH
OF NASA'S NEW ORION SPACECRAFT.
ORION TRAVELED 3,600 MILES
ABOVE EARTH.
THAT'S 15 TIMES FARTHER AWAY
FROM THE PLANET THAN
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
FOR THIS TEST FLIGHT,
NO ASTRONAUTS WERE ON BOARD.
THE SPACECRAFT'S COMPUTERS
CONTROLLED THE FLIGHT,
AND COLLECTED DATA
FROM LAUNCH TO LANDING.
SCIENTISTS ARE NOW STUDYING
THIS DATA, AND CONDUCTING
MORE TESTING TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE HAZARDS
OR SAFETY CONCERNS THAT
ASTRONAUTS AND THE SPACECRAFT
COULD ENCOUNTER DURING
LONG DISTANCE SPACE MISSIONS.
AS AN ENGINEER WHO WORKS
ON ORION, I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT
THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES THAT
THIS SPACECRAFT WILL GIVE US
IN TRAVELING FARTHER INTO
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
AND DISCOVERING THE UNKNOWN.
NOW HERE'S NASA ASTRONAUT
AND ENGINEER, STEPHANIE WILSON
TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE CHALLENGE.
>> HI, I AM STEPHANIE WILSON.
I AM SO EXCITED THAT YOU'VE
ACCEPTED THE CHALLENGE
TO BE PART OF NASA'S TEAM.
NASA IS DEVELOPING
THE NEXT GENERATION OF
SPACE EXPLORATION VEHICLES.
LET US EXPLORE ONE VEHICLE
KNOWN AS ORION.
ORION WILL BE ABLE TO TRANSPORT
HUMANS BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT,
TRAVELING TO THE MOON, MARS,
AND OTHER DESTINATIONS IN SPACE.
YOUR TEAM'S CHALLENGE,
DESIGN AND BUILD YOUR OWN
MODEL SPACECRAFT FOR TESTING.
YOUR SPACECRAFT MUST BE BUILT
TO PROTECT A CREW OF ASTRONAUTS
DURING A LANDING.
AS YOU TEST AND IMPROVE
YOUR DESIGN USING
THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS,
YOU MAY FACE PROBLEMS,
YOU MAY HAVE TO COME UP WITH
NEW SOLUTIONS, BUT YOU WILL BE
BUILDING THE SKILLS
AND KNOWLEDGE TO HELP SOLVE
TOMORROW'S CHALLENGES
IN SPACE AND ON EARTH.
SINCE ORION WILL TAKE
MY COLLEAGUES AND I INTO SPACE,
I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE
THE SPACECRAFT YOU CREATE.
>> THANKS, STEPHANIE.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE
YOUR ASSIGNMENT, IT'S TIME
TO GET TO WORK.
YOUR SPACECRAFT MUST:
AND FINALLY...
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN.
BE CREATIVE WITH YOUR DESIGNS.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE
WHAT YOUR TEAMS COME UP WITH.
>> YOU ARE THE FUTURE
SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
WHO WILL HELP US IMPROVE
HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION,
AND I AM SO THRILLED TO
HAVE YOU AS PART OF OUR TEAM.
TOGETHER, WE'LL CHART
A PATH TO NEW DISCOVERIES,
AND WHO KNOWS, YOU MAY EVEN
USE ORION ONE DAY TO BECOME
ONE OF THE FIRST ASTRONAUTS
TO SET FOOT ON MARS.
GOOD LUCK, AND WE LOOK FORWARD
TO SEEING YOUR SOLUTIONS.